Town of Guilford set to take over old school science wing

Building will be converted to fitness center, storage

By Akaya McElveen amcelveen@nhregister.com @Uh_Kaya on Twitter

Published
7:05 pm EDT, Wednesday, May 20, 2015

GUILFORD >> Ownership of the science wing at the old Guilford High School will soon be transferred from the Board of Education to the town, saving the town approximately $600,000. The Board of Selectmen voted to have the town assume full ownership of the building effective June 30, and will transform it into a facility for community and town purposes.

Superintendent of School Paul Freeman said the first floor of the building will be renovated to build a community fitness center that will be occupied as a Park and Recreation facility, and the second floor will be used for town storage.

“The plan is twofold. Number one is to renovate the first floor for a community wellness weight room, which is more of a Park and Rec facility. The second would be to use the second floor for town storage,” Freeman said. “The town gets to hold onto the space and use it for the community. Every town can benefit from having more storage.”

First Selectman Joseph Mazza said the town has been discussing the fate of the science building since the town decided to build a new high school.

The new $92 million high school, which is “on time and on budget” will be ready for the start of the 2015-16 school year.

According to Freeman, the new building will be significantly larger than the current building and will use less energy.

Freeman listed large meeting rooms, a television studio, Internet cafes and non-traditional work desks as features of the new building, among others.

The new high school will feature a larger auditorium that will hold about 600 people, and the hallways of each classroom wing will be lined with about 1,200, 15-inch-wide lockers.

Mazza said because the old science wing building had been constructed more recently (having been built within the last 10-13 years), the town decided it would be best to refurbish the building.

“It was determined that the science wing is in fairly good condition and had a lot of life left to it. And a lot of the residents felt it would be a shame to demolish it, and we did, too,” said Mazza. “We didn’t want it to be considered as part of the square footage of the new high school.”

Mazza said by not demolishing the building, it would save the town approximately $600,000.

The cost to renovate the old science wing building and construct the fitness center is $750,000, which recently had been approved by voters at referendum.

Freeman said the entire situation is a “win/win” for everyone because instead of demolishing it, the building will be put to good use by the town and residents can take advantage of it.

Planning and Zoning will also have to have a hand in the transfer of ownership. Once approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, the town can move forward with the renovations.

“I think it’s great that we’re able to preserve this building that was constructed about 10 years ago and put it to town use rather than demolish it,” said Mazza. “It’ll be a great addition to our Park and Rec programs.”